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Teen Becomes First For DPS To Graduate High School & College Concurrently

By Jeff Todd

DENVER (CBS4) - Alex Jones isn't sure what to do with his free days now because for the past four years he's been taking high school classes and completing college degrees at the same time.

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(credit: CBS)

"From the beginning traditional schools were somewhat unchallenging and unsatisfying. I love learning. I don't know about school, but it's definitely a good place to learn," Jones said before his graduation from Denver Online High School on Wednesday.

He completed his bachelors in Computer Science earlier this month.

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(credit: Alex Jones)

"I've been teaching 26 years. I have never known a student who graduated from college before he graduated from high school, and that's Alex," said Dr. Lindsay Packer the Metro State University Chair of the Mathematical & Computer Sciences Department.

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"To our knowledge he is the first student to ever accomplish this feat in the 159-year history of Denver Public Schools," said Denver Online High School Principal Ian Jones.

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CBS4's Jeff Todd interviews Alex Jones. (credit: CBS)

Jones worked tirelessly taking classes and doing school work from early in the morning until well after midnight. He says his work ethic came from a desire to learn.

"I think the hardest class I took would be chemistry two. That's because it was also late at night. I'd be super tired going into it, and I would need to learn all these incredibly hard concepts and go home and study with very little sleep," he said.

Because he took many classes concurrently, a DPS program paid for most of his college classes. He has no student debt.

The teenager didn't look at graduation as a culmination or finish line. He's got a bright future ahead.

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(credit: CBS)

"Today, for me, is almost like a portal into adulthood. Real adulthood, outside of school. It's a little frightening, and I can't always see that far ahead," he said.

Jones wanted to enlist in the Air Force and become one of the youngest officers ever. But, the Air Force told him he'd have to wait until 2020 to start Officer Training School and patience with school isn't something he has a lot of.

"I don't exactly know what I'm doing from here on out," Jones said. "I'm currently looking for an entry-level software developer job."

Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.

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